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Professional events facilities – with a touch of class

Norton House Hotel & Spa is the perfect spot to unwind and a natural home for business events

Located up a snaking driveway on lush private grounds you would be easily forgiven for thinking Norton House Hotel & Spa was a million miles away from the hullabaloo of city life. That is the central appeal of a venue which for years has been one of the default destinations for weddings along the M8/M9 corridor in Ingliston, near Edinburgh.

With a five-star (or ‘five bubbles’ as the ratings system goes) spa onsite, the hotel has been for many years a staple choice for couples taking the solemn vows of matrimony – and who then can handily nip across the road to Edinburgh Airport for their honeymoon hop. But 2018 will see the venue gear up for a fresh marketing push at the corporate events market as it reminds business events planners of its rich history as a country house retreat, going back to the original building’s completion in 1840, but also its corporate meetings centre offer, developed at the height of the financial boom in the early 2000s.

This purpose-built, modern extension seamlessly blends historic character with contemporary elegance; but more importantly, for delegates, it has the air of an exclusive, discreet venue where they can remove themselves from the frenzy of office life and plan their next corporate move in the utmost privacy. Boasting 83 bedrooms, 14 conference and private event spaces (ranging from the smallest gathering to up to 300 delegates), the venue is suited to the small to medium-sized meeting – which make up the lion’s share of business events in Scotland.

Peter Dornom, General Manager of the award-winning resort, said: “Many people have naturally have come to associate Norton House Hotel & Spa with that of a luxury wedding venue. But the extensive conferencing facilities we offer should not be overlooked by corporate event planners. We are just five minutes from Scotland’s major motorway corridors, 10 minutes from the airport and 20 minutes from the city centre, which is reachable by bus or tram. Our conferencing suite also boasts some truly novel splitlevel, duplex bedrooms which are a great place for senior executives to unwind after the rigours of a board meeting.”

He added: “With 55 acres of grounds, which surround our landscaped gardens, Norton House is also the ideal place for a team-building session or even an evening drinks reception on our beautiful lawns. It’s somewhere where you come for that all important ‘headspace’.”

Norton House Hotel & Spa is owned by Hand Picked Hotels, which has steadily built a unique collection of architecturally stunning country house hotels, and has a certain haute-class pedigree for the MICE sector. The company, founded by CEO Julia Hands, a former city lawyer, has 20 luxury venues across the UK, with 16 in England, three in the Channel Islands, and one in Scotland.

The hotel has also recently undergone a refurbishment; its 10 bedrooms in the main building are luxurious and refined whilst the remainder in the newer extension have an individual style and flair.

Dornom adds: “We like to think the business traveller will be well reposed at Norton House Hotel & Spa and in 2018 we will be reminding the market of that very fact.”